Treat You Right
by janeyway
Summary: Annabeth gets sick when she, Luke and Thalia are on the run; her weird little family love her and look after her. One-shot.


**Treat You Right **

Annabeth trudged behind Thalia and Luke down the alleys of New York City. They were so focussed on one another they barely glanced at the sidewalk, laughing at each other's bad jokes. Their hands swung so close together their pinkies sometimes brushed as they walked. Annabeth liked it best when they held hands because it seemed a bit more like love.

Tonight, though, Annabeth was too preoccupied to care if her de facto parents held hands or not; it was winter and the snow that had fallen the past few days was yellowing on the ground. Each breath in felt like a stab in Annabeth's chest, and her parka had been so torn up in a harpy attack she'd had to ditch it and go without. Now she shuffled down the icy alleyway in only a long-sleeved cotton shirt and jeans, shivering violently.

The harpy attack had three been days ago and she'd felt worse each day since. Now she was tired and her mouth was dry but her throat was raw from the cough she had developed. Though she felt colder than possible she was sticky with sweat. Her headache was so bad her vision was blurred and she kept rubbing her eyes to clear the spots she saw.

Suddenly she started coughing, and the force was so great it knocked her off her feet. She kneeled, dazed, in the snow, and as her peripheral vision went dark she worried about losing consciousness.

"Annabeth?"

Luke's voice was heavy with concern as he and Thalia turned to face the source of the interruption. Seeing her crouched on the ground several feet behind them, the pair ran back to her with outstretched arms.

Luke got to her first and picked her up, sitting cross-legged with her on his lap. Annabeth grabbed the collar of his coat and pulled herself up to rest her head in the crook of his neck. His face fell as he felt the hot flesh of her forehead against his cool skin. "Oh, Annabeth," he muttered, moving his left arm to bear the weight of her little frame. With the other he took Thalia's hand and moved it to feel the back of the little girl's hot neck.

Thalia sat on the ground across from them, her eyes widened in shock. "Oh, gods," she murmured, "you're sick. We didn't even notice. I… I'm so sorry, kid." She stroked the blonde curls away from her sticky forehead, never breaking eye contact with Luke.

"It's okay," she replied in a hoarse voice, "you were busy." Luke was overwhelmed with guilt.

"We should get her to a hospital," he said to Thalia. "I doubt there's anything serious wrong with her but they can drug her and give her a room for the night."

"No," Thalia protested firmly, "we can't. I am so grateful to you for stealing our food each day, but you're wanted in four states. If we bring her to a hospital, even if she's not admitted, they'll track you down and send you straight back to your mom's."

Annabeth felt more than saw Luke scowling. She opened her mouth to come to his defence but before she could speak her body was wracked with another cycle of coughs. Afterwards her head hurt unimaginably, and she was left so drained that she could no longer resist the urge to fling her arms around Luke's proud neck, bury her face in his shoulder and sob. Thalia squeezed her eyes shut and prayed to Hypnos she would be able to forget that sound.

Luke's arms closed around Annabeth instantly and he rubbed her back up and down, shushing her gently and lying "It's alright." After a while her sobs slowed to hiccups and Luke softly peeled her away so she sat facing him.

"Guess what?" he asked with his trademark smile "I have a plan."

"You… you do?" asked Annabeth. He looked down at the little girl whose puffy eyes were huge with wonder. Trails of shed tears still glistened on her soft, round cheeks, burned red by the cold and as he watched her Luke felt an enormous swell of love. With his sleeve he wiped her nose and cheeks.

"I do," he said, "Thalia permitting." The daughter of Zeus raised an eyebrow at this but nodded for him to carry on. "I want to get us a hotel room for tonight; I'll swipe someone's key as they leave." Hugging Annabeth to his chest, he stood up and motioned for Thalia to do the same. Since she hadn't stopped him yet, he took that as the go ahead that their sick child overruled any ethical code they had been living by up until now. They walked to the end of the alley and headed north towards the Dorchester.

"We can have room service hot cocoa in a great big bed with white sheets that smell like soap. We'll watch pay-per-view movies and in the morning we can have pancakes."

"With syrup," murmured Annabeth as she nuzzled into his shoulder. Luke felt Thalia's pinkie finger graze his free hand and he scooped her hand up into his.

"Yes," he replied, "most definitely."

**AN: Hi there. This did not turn out like I thought it would but I think it's alright. It might not be so let me know by reviewing. Thank you! Jane x**


End file.
